Crime

Judge OKs releasing Waukesha County cop killer if housing resolved

A 55-year-old man who killed two Waukesha County police officers in 1975 and had been accused of killing a third person could walk free next month, after a judge on Thursday cleared his release but postponed the decision 30 days.

The delay is intended to give the state time to find housing for Alan A. Randall. The victims' families don't want Randall to come back to Waukesha County, and he would prefer to go to Madison or Neenah, where he has job opportunities.

Randall killed Summit police officers Robert "Rocky" Atkins and Wayne Olson in January 1975, when Randall was 16. Prosecutors believe he also killed his neighbor several days earlier.

Two years after the crimes, he was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in the officers' killings and committed to a state mental hospital. He was acquitted in the death of his neighbor.

But for years, professionals treating Randall had said he has shown no evidence of mental illness and thought he could safely be released.

In April, a six-person jury in Waukesha found that Randall should be released but subject to conditions set out by the state Department of Health Services. A judge Thursday morning will consider those conditions.

Mental health experts had testified that he hasn't suffered from a mental illness since 1989 and has never been on medication.

While living at Winnebago Mental Health Institute, he had a job for years at an art gallery. For the past seven years, he's also worked during the day while living at the state psychiatric hospital in Mendota.

The victim's families were upset by the decision in April, Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel said at the time, adding that the families were somewhat relieved Randall wasn't likely to return to Waukesha County.

Schimel also said a judge in 1977 added a 10-year probation sentence, to be served if Randall was ever released from mental hospitals, for burglaries and other crimes committed around the time of the slayings. Theoretically, Randall could be sent to prison for that period if he violates conditions, but Schimel said there are questions about the legality of that sentence.